Pneumatic ab wheel

ABSTRACT

A pneumatic ab wheel includes shaft having a middle section and two holding sections, a rotation assembly pivotally connected to the middle section of the shaft and performing a rotational movement on the shaft, and a wheel provided around the rotation assembly to drive the rotation assembly to perform the rotational movement on the shaft and to roll on a surface while in contact with the surface so as to generate a frictional force. The wheel is filled therein with at least one gas to form a pneumatic pressure in the wheel. When the pneumatic pressure in the wheel is adjusted, the frictional force between the wheel and the surface is changed.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a pneumatic ab wheel, and particularly to a pneumatic ab wheel that changes friction against a surface by adjusting a pneumatic pressure.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

An ab wheel is a common type of household exercise equipment, and allows a user to perform back-and-forth rolling movements on the ground to achieve a fitness effect.

For example, a common ab wheel is as the Taiwan Patent No. M513713 disclosing a restoring abdominal muscle exercise machine. The restoring abdominal muscle exercise machine includes: a wheel, having therein an accommodating space and pivotally disposed on an axis, wherein at least one elastic member is provided around an inner wall of the accommodating space; and two grips, respectively provided at two ends of the axis, operable to be held by a user. When the wheel rotates clockwise, the elastic member is compressed to cause the wheel to rotate counterclockwise.

For another example, the Taiwan Patent No. M545614 discloses a force-restoring ab wheel. The force-restoring ab wheel primarily includes an accommodating space formed in a wheel, and an axis member is penetrated at the center position of the wheel, such that the wheel and the axis member form a state of pivotal connection. At each of two ends of the axis member, a grip is assembled outwards from the wheel. A spring rolling film is provided between the accommodating space and the axis member. One end of the spring rolling film is fixedly connected to the accommodating space, and the other end is fixedly connected at the axis member. A limiting ring is further provided at an outer edge of the spring rolling film. Thus, when put to application, the spring rolling film provides a user with assistance for pulling back the wheel, reducing the occurrence of sport injuries and increasing application convenience. Further, the limiting ring provides a limiting and protection effect on the spring rolling film so as to prevent the spring rolling film from being deformed and damaged, and regulates circular winding contraction operations of spring rolling film and prevents the spring rolling film from producing noise during operations.

In the above disclosures, a hard wheel is adopted, and either the elastic member or the spring rolling film is installed in the accommodating space in the wheel. Using a restoring force generated by the elastic member or the spring rolling film, the user is assisted to pull back the ab wheel.

However, in the above conventional ab wheels, either the elastic member or the spring rolling film is configured with a predetermined elastic force and then installed in the wheel, in a way that the elastic force of the ab wheel cannot be adjusted according to user preference or exercise intensity and progress. Further, when used for an extended period of time, fatigue of the elastic member or the spring rolling film may be resulted, gradually failing the expected fitness function of the ab wheel.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a pneumatic ab wheel, and more particularly, to a pneumatic ab wheel that changes friction against a surface by adjusting a pneumatic pressure.

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a pneumatic ab wheel including a shaft, a rotation assembly and a wheel. The shaft comprises a middle section, and two holding sections respectively extending from the middle section and towards opposite directions. The rotation assembly is pivotally connected to the middle section of the shaft, performs a rotational movement on the shaft, and comprises a limiting area thereon. The wheel is disposed around the limiting area of the rotation assembly, and drives the rotation assembly to perform the rotational movement on the shaft and to roll on a surface while in contact with the surface so as to generate a frictional force. The wheel is filled therein with at least one gas to form a pneumatic pressure. When the pneumatic pressure in the wheel is adjusted, the frictional force between the wheel and the surface is changed.

In one embodiment, each of the two holding sections is sleeved by a grip.

In one embodiment, each of the two grips includes an anti-slip region.

In one embodiment, the rotation assembly includes a first pivotal connection member, and a second pivotal connection member assembled with the first pivotal connection member.

In one embodiment, the first pivotal connection member includes a first pivotal connection body, and a first side cover covering one side of the first pivotal connection body. The second pivotal connection member includes a second pivotal connection body assembled with the first pivotal connection body, and a second side cover covering one side of the second pivotal connection body.

In one embodiment, the first pivotal connection body and the second pivotal connection body are located between the first side cover and the second side cover.

In one embodiment, the wheel includes an air hole, through which the pneumatic pressure in the wheel is adjusted.

With the above technical contents, the present invention provides following features compared to prior art.

In the present invention, the frictional force between the wheel and the surface is primarily changed by adjusting the pneumatic pressure in the wheel, and the impedance of the wheel is adjusted by changing the frictional force, further providing a user with different impedance levels according to a desired training progress.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective schematic diagram of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded schematic diagram of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a sectional schematic diagram of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a sectional schematic diagram of a first movement state of the present invention; and

FIG. 5 is sectional schematic diagram of a second movement state of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Details and technical contents of the present invention are given with the accompanying drawings below.

As shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, a pneumatic ab wheel 10 of the present invention, operable to be rolled on a surface (not shown, may be the ground, a wall surface, or any surface on which rolling can be performed) for a user to carry out a fitness exercise, includes a shaft 20, a rotation assembly 30 and a wheel 40.

The shaft 20 comprises a middle section 21, and two holding sections 22 respectively extending from the middle section 21 and towards opposite directions. Each of the holding sections 22 is sleeved by a grip 23 for hands of the user to hold onto. Each of the grips 23 is provided with an anti-slip region 231 for preventing the hands of the user from slipping off the grips 23.

The rotation assembly 30 is provided around the middle section 21 of the shaft 20 and between the two grips 23. The rotation assembly 30 is operable to perform a rotational movement at the middle section 21, and the rotation assembly 30 is provided with a limiting area 31. The rotation assembly 30 is formed by mutually assembling a first pivotal connection member 32 and a second pivotal connection member 33. The limiting area 31 is located at a connecting position of the first pivotal connection member 32 and the second pivotal connection member 33. The first pivotal connection member 32 is formed by a first pivotal connection body 321, and a first side cover 322 covering between the first pivotal connection body 321 and one of the two grips 23. The second pivotal connection member 33 is formed by a second pivotal connection body 331 pivotally connected to the first pivotal connection body 321, and a second side cover 332 disposed between the second pivotal connection body 331 and the other of two the grips 23. The first pivotal connection body 321 and the second pivotal connection body 331 are located between the first side cover 322 and the second side cover 332. Meanwhile, the limiting area 31 is located between the first side cover 322 and the second side cover 332.

The wheel 40 is provided around the limiting area 31 of the rotation assembly 30, and rolls on the surface while in contact with the surface to generate a frictional force against the surface, so as to drive the rotation assembly 30 to perform the rotational movement on the shaft 20. The wheel 40 includes an air chamber 41, and an air hole 42 in communication with the air chamber 41. A gas is filled into the air chamber 41 through the air hole 42, or the gas is discharged from the air chamber 41 through the air hole 42, thus forming a pneumatic pressure by using the gas in the air chamber 41.

Referring to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, when a user uses both hands to hold on the two grips 23 and rolls the pneumatic ab wheel 10 of the present invention on a ground surface 50, the user applies, through the two grips 23 and the shaft 20, a gravitational force upon the wheel 40. When the pneumatic pressure in the wheel 40 increases, as shown in FIG. 4, the contact area between the wheel 40 and the ground surface 50 gets smaller and the frictional force generated also becomes smaller. When the pneumatic pressure in the wheel 40 decreases, as shown in FIG. 5, the contact area between the wheel 40 and the ground surface 50 gets larger and the frictional force generated also becomes larger. Thus, by adjusting the magnitude of the pneumatic pressure in the air chamber 41 of the wheel 40 through the air hole 42, the frictional force between the wheel 40 and the ground surface 50 can be changed, further adjusting the impedance of the wheel 40 against the ground surface 50 by changing the frictional force.

It should be noted that, in the wheel 40 of the present invention, an additive such as water or sand may be added to accordingly change the weight of the wheel 40. The amount of the additive may be adjusted by the user to enhance application variation of the pneumatic ab wheel 10. Meanwhile, the wheel 40 may also become a piece of independent training equipment by using the additive.

Compared to the prior art, the pneumatic ab wheel 10 of the present invention changes the frictional force between the wheel 40 and the ground surface 50 primarily by changing the pneumatic pressure in the wheel 40, so as to adjust the impedance of the wheel 40 by changing the frictional force, further providing the user with different impedance levels according to a desired training process. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A pneumatic ab wheel, comprising: a shaft, having a middle section, and two holding sections respectively extending from the middle section and towards opposite directions; a rotation assembly, pivotally connected to the middle section of the shaft, performing a rotational movement on the shaft, having a limiting area; and a wheel, provided around the limiting area of the rotation assembly to drive the rotation assembly to perform the rotational movement on the shaft, and to perform rolling while in contact with a surface to generate a frictional force; wherein, the wheel is filled therein with at least one gas so as to form a pneumatic pressure in the wheel, and the frictional force between the wheel and the surface is changed when the pneumatic pressure in the wheel is adjusted.
 2. The pneumatic ab wheel of claim 1, wherein each of the two holding sections is sleeved by a grip.
 3. The pneumatic ab wheel of claim 2, wherein each of the two grips comprises an anti-slip region.
 4. The pneumatic ab wheel of claim 1, wherein the rotation assembly comprises a first pivotal connection member, and a second pivotal connection member pivotally assembled with the first pivotal connection member.
 5. The pneumatic ab wheel of claim 4, wherein the first pivotal connection member comprises a first pivotal connection body and a first side cover covering one side of the first pivotal connection body, and the second pivotal connection member comprises a second pivotal connection body and a second side cover covering one side of the second pivotal connection body.
 6. The pneumatic ab wheel of claim 5, wherein the first pivotal connection body and the second pivotal connection body are located between the first side cover and the second side cover.
 7. The pneumatic ab wheel of claim 1, wherein the wheel comprises an air hole, through which the pneumatic pressure in the wheel is adjusted. 